City still exploring buying fairgrounds

Land not for sale, at least for now

DEL MAR 
There's no mention of selling the Del Mar Fairgrounds in a state budget signed yesterday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but city officials in Del Mar expect the idea to return.

Mayor Crystal Crawford said at a City Council meeting Monday that the city is continuing to explore the idea of buying the fairgrounds, even if it's not for sale this year.

In May, Schwarzenegger proposed selling numerous state properties, including the fairgrounds, to raise cash. After lengthy budget negotiations, it was deleted from the final list of other properties — including the Orange County Fairgrounds — that could be sold.

Crawford said the state budget only covers one year and doesn't address long-term budget problems. She said it's likely that state officials will again discuss selling the 400-acre coastal property, valued at between $400 million and $700 million.

The Del Mar City Council recently agreed to research the feasibility of the city taking over the fairgrounds to keep it in the public domain. Crawford sent a July 17 letter to Schwarzenegger requesting “a seat at the table” in future discussions regarding a possible sale of the fairgrounds.

In the letter, Crawford noted that the fairgrounds represents one-fifth of the geographic area of Del Mar. It is the city's largest sewer and water customer and most frequent source of 911 calls.